Quote:
Originally Posted by lionrock
I was thinking about Islam and Muslims today after getting a lame Muslim stereotype e-mail list from a relative. It spawned me to actually look up what Muslims believe and the history of Islam specifically in America. My question is it possible for Muslims to eve be fully integrated into American society? How far can America go to accommodate different belief systems without treading on other people's freedom? Allow Sharia courts for civil disputes between Muslim parties? Hijabs in school? Should a woman be allowed to wear a burka through airport security? I believe in religious liberty, but some of the things I found in the Koran as basic beliefs were not consistent with beliefs of America. If you choose to worship one way and live one way, that is fine, but what if the core of your religion allows you to punish those who don't live like you? I was hoping for a thoughtful, respectful, well informed debate, but that probably won't happen.
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americans are free to govern the way they want to govern themselves. i find the argument about introducing seperate sharia laws quite lame really. most muslim communities in western countries have an internal system of sorting out cultural or religious issues that dont need access to the courts.
Issues relating to marriage, divorce, religious decrees (fatwas), civil contracts etc are all internally resolved by a mufti or sheikh, or community elder. if those things fail, it may proceed to the court of the country they live in. Islamic principles are loosly based around the christian and judaic ones, so a court of law in the states would not be alien to muslims. except maybe for the religion jargon.
the fact that muslims live under another system of government other than their own does not give them a right to enforce their laws on the people of the land. But those laws do give them the right to settle their own disputes between themselves. i do know theres been some dicussions in the UK to introduce a 'shariah court', but from what i recall it was to settle civil disputes in the country and not criminal ones and it had no right to enforce punishments. i can only presume that by doing this a country can monitor civil matters and ensure that the rights of others is not infringed which cant be a bad thing.
as far as hijabs go, my wife wears one. out of her own choice. ive never been involved in her decisions and she has the freedom to choose her on her own. shes smart ( much more than me) , much more articulate than me, highly educated ( again much more than me) and works for the government as well as her own business and a mother at the same time. i find that if the governments were going to clamp down on hijabs in schools and deny girls an education, then they are denying and alienating a part of the population that can actually give back to the community. the last thing you want is to alienate muslims so that they pull away from scoiety. Ive always said that education is the key to bridging the divide. Deny this to the girls with hijabs and you'll have a lingering problem.
with regards to burqas, in the middle east and south asia there has never been an issue with burqas. ive been through many airports where women in burqas show their faces to women border security and passport control. they must go through the same checks as anyone else as far as im concerned. but like spindles said, once you go past those gates..who cares.
will i dont think that religion or culture is stationary. in fact islamic culture and art has evolved from 1400 years ago. even your exmample about dating and integration into the west is evolution.